


Operation: Make Daddy Happy

by darkemrys



Series: The Pier [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Blind Date, Break Up, F/F, F/M, First Date, Heartbreak, M/M, Moving On, TONY DIDN'T GET HIS HEART BROKEN BY STEVE ROGERS, Tony is in a happy and healthy relationship with someone who loves him very much, civil war didn't happen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-02-24 10:15:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13211643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkemrys/pseuds/darkemrys
Summary: After seeing Scott's ex-girlfriend in a happy relationship with someone else, Cassie Lang is determined to find a boyfriend for her father. With the help of Peter Parker, Tony Stark, and T'Challa, the four of them come up with a plan to set Scott Lang up on a blind date with Stephen Strange.However, as everyone knows, things never go according to plan.





	1. The Plan

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the first entry in the series! 
> 
> There's a few things you need to know before reading this.
> 
> 1\. This takes place in a wonderful world where Civil War did not happen and Tony didn't get his heart ripped out by Steve Rogers.
> 
> 2\. There is a tad bit of Hope bashing. I have no problem with Hope, but for the sake of the plot, there had to be some bashing.
> 
> 3\. Marvel does not belong to me in any way, shape, or form.
> 
> Enjoy!

If there was anything that Cassie Lang loved more than anything in the world, it was Scott Lang.

No, love wouldn’t be the right word to describe their relationship. It was adore. It had to be adore. 

In her eyes, Scott Lang could do no wrong. Sure, he made mistakes. Some of those mistakes were minor incidents that resulted in Scott getting by with a slap on the wrist. On the other hand, other mistakes weren’t so minor. Those mistakes ended up with Scott being locked up in jail and missing years of Cassie’s life.

Cassie knew Scott Lang was a good person. He was her whole entire world. He was the sun that guided her path when times were dark and scary. Most importantly, he was her hero. 

She didn’t need Iron Man, Captain America, or the rest of the Avengers. If she was ever in trouble, she could always count on her dad to save her, along with an army of billions of ants. 

So, yes, Cassie thought the world of her dad, which is why she became very upset when she noticed that he was sad when he came to visit her one Saturday after she begged her mother for two whole days to let her go out for a little while instead of spending all day inside working on a science project that she needed some assistance with. 

Now, if Scott Lang was sad, he never showed it. At least, he always tried to hide it from Cassie. He would force himself to smile and look happy during the best day of his week, but every so often, there would be cracks in his emotional armor. There would be moments of vulnerability, but they appeared and vanished so quickly that it felt if Cassie blinked, she would have never noticed. That changed when they went to the carnival. 

At first, she didn’t notice anything strange at all. He looked exactly the same as he usually did when she was around: green eyes that shined with happiness and life and smiles filled with nothing but joy. 

Then, Cassie decided that it would be fun to go on the ferris wheel. Not willing to make his daughter unhappy, Scott complied with her request with no complaints. 

With both of them strapped safely inside their blue passenger cars, they slowly traveled around and around in circles, taking in all the sights of the world below them. When they had circled around for the second or third time, Cassie became concerned when she saw her father’s face change. The smile he once had was gone and an expression of shock took its place. His jaw hung slightly in the air. Happiness no longer shone in his eyes. Instead, there was only hurt and betrayal. 

“Daddy? What’s wrong?”, a worried Cassie questioned.

Unfortunately, her question fell on deaf ears. Scott remained unresponsive, almost like he didn’t even hear her speak. His eyes remained fixated on whatever he was looking at that caused him so much grief. Cassie followed Scott’s line of sight and almost gasped when she saw what was making her father so upset.

In front of the next to the cotton candy stand was a tall, light-skinned, green-eyed brunette woman accompanied by a blonde lady with blue eyes that was few inches taller than she was. Even from far away, Cassie could tell that the woman that her father kept his eyes on was Hope Pym.

The last time she remembered, Hope and Scott were together in a happy relationship. In fact, Cassie had secretly dreamed that two of them would get married, so she could have a nice lady to have as another mother. A thousand questions raced around in the young child’s mind.

If there were really happy together, why did her dad look at Hope like his heart was being ripped out of his chest? Why was Hope with another woman? Why did Hope look happier with her than she ever did with him? Her mind ceased racing when the sight before them started to change slightly. 

Hope’s hands held a humongous pink cloud of cotton candy while the mystery woman wrapped her arms around Hope from behind. Instead of pulling away from the female’s touch, Hope relished in it. Hope took a large bite of the sweet treat in her hands before resting her head on the woman’s shoulder. The woman took her own bite of Hope’s cotton candy before Hope turned around in her arms, allowing her to wrap her arms around the blonde’s neck. Slowly, the distance between the two of them lessened with each passing moment, until finally, their lips met in a tender kiss. 

A second after that, Scott finally ripped his eyes away from the two women and turned his head to the side so Cassie couldn’t see how distressed he was. His efforts were in vain though. Cassie already knew that Hope being with that woman had hurt him greatly. She saw her father’s eyes beginning to fill with water before he tried to hide his face from her. 

Cassie touched his shoulder and investigated her father’s sudden change in his emotional state. “Daddy, are you okay?”

His shoulders sagged downward, along with her fingers. However, he whipped his head towards her so quickly that Cassie moved her hand, thinking that maybe she made a bad decision in asking her question. 

There was no anger or sadness in his face, only fake happiness. His smile was so wide that it almost looked like it was causing him physical pain. His green eyes looked dull in comparison to how they looked moments before. 

His words even sounded false when they left his lips. “I’m fine, Peanut. I’m fine.”

Fresh, hot rage bubbled in Cassie’s chest, but it wasn’t directed at her father. No, any anger that she felt now was because of Hope.

Scott was unhappy because of her, and Cassie didn’t like anyone who made her dad unhappy. 

An idea born out of anger took root in Cassie’s mind. If her dad were dating someone else, it would make him forget all about Hope. All she had to do was find someone that her dad could date. She knew her dad liked both boys and girls, so there were plenty of options out there.

It was simple. All she had to do was find someone new for her dad. He would be happy again and never again think about the bimbo who broke his heart. 

She needed some help though. Her father deserved the best and there were only a few people that could help her with such an important task. So, before she went back to her mother and stepfather, she sent a text to a friend of the family.

Hi, Pete. It’s Cassie. Can u talk?

\----------------------------------------

An angry Peter sat on one of the various benches of Central Park, accompanied by a serious Michelle Jones. She reached out to place her hand over his, but he jerked it out of reach. He didn’t want her to touch him, especially after what she had just said to him. Michelle sighed before moving her hand back into her lap where the other one rested. 

After a moment of suffocating silence, she said, “Pete, this is what’s best for us.”

He exclaimed in complete defiance, shooting up to his feet in his emotional rant, 

“You want to talk about what’s best for us?! Staying together! That’s what best for us, but you don’t want that!” 

“How long do you think we’re gonna last?! We won’t be in high school forever! We’re gonna graduate and we’re gonna move on!”

“It doesn’t matter how far away we are. We can still make this work. We can still make us work.”

“By doing the long distance thing? Please. Peter, you can’t be that stupid. That won’t work. It never does.” 

“We won’t know unless we try.”

A sarcastic snort emitted from Michelle before she made her statement.

“Let’s say we try the long distance thing. It might work for a while. Maybe, a month…two months tops. Then, we’ll get busy. You’ll do whatever job Stark has you doing and I’ll be busy halfway across the world in Oxford. We’ll forget to talk for a day or two, throw apologies at each other and fake promises to talk more. Then, we’ll do it again, only this time it’ll be weeks. More apologies. More promises. Months will pass, and what’s going to happen? One more apology. One more promise. Then, one day, when we actually remember to talk, there won’t be any apologizes or promises. There’ll be a break up.”

“You can’t know that for sure.”

Michelle stood up, looking completely exhausted, when she stood up.

“I do know and you don’t. That’s the problem.”

She started to walk away, but Peter grabbed her wrist in a tight grip in a frantic attempt to get her to stay with him. He knew that if he let her go now, he would lose her forever. The teen hero decided to make one last-ditch effort to salvage his relationship with Michelle before it was forever tarnished by the memory of a broken heart. 

“Michelle, I lo-“

Peter didn’t even get the chance to finish. Michelle ripped her arm out of Peter’s fingers out so quickly it was as if contact with him was the most excruciating thing in the world for her. She whipped around and glared at him coldly with red, watery eyes that threatened to spill over. Peter had never seen her so hurt in his life. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when Michelle raised her hand up in the air. Then, she started to scream.

“You don’t get to say that! You don’t get to say that to me after I want to end this! You don’t get to say that to me to keep me around! You’ve had plenty of chances before to say it! You didn’t say it then, so don’t you dare say it now!”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Have a nice life, Parker.”

She stormed away from him and he just stood there, powerless to stop her. Every step she took was like a knife that cut into his heart. Every minute or so, her hands would fly to her face and swipe away at her skin. Peter knew she was trying to wipe away the tears he made fall down her face.  
Yet, unlike her, he made no attempt to wipe his own tears away. 

He collapsed on the bench, pulled the hood of his old, grey hoodie over his head and let the tears just fall down his face. Peter would have kept crying if his phone didn’t start to vibrate in his pocket. 

His fingers fished the mobile device out of his clothing and his eyes widened when he saw Cassie’s message. It didn’t take him long, but he formed a response.

Sure. What about?

A second later, another text popped up on the screen.

Need to talk to u in person. Can u come over?

“Was she in some kind of trouble?”, Peter questioned before he sent a message.

Did u ask ur mom if it was ok?

Cassie’s next response made Peter’s eyebrows rise in suspicion.

She said it’s ok. Told her I need help with my science project.

It’s bad to lie to ur mom.

Not a lie. Really do need help with my science project. Promised Mom I’d start on it after getting back from the carnival. U coming or not?

The teen laughed for a minute, before sending one last text before moving from the bench.

On my way.

\---------------------------------------------

After about two or three of doing non-stop science work with Peter, Cassie finished with her science project of a functioning volcano that successfully spewed out lava made of baking soda. She pleaded with her friend for them to take a break, but it was no use. Science was literally a playground for Peter. Once he was deeply involved in the scientific field, he would never remove himself from it unless he was finished, or rather, she was finished.  
Cassie’s reward for finishing her science project in the span of a day was a big, piping hot plate of chocolate chip cookies and grape soda. She was munching happily on a soft, gooey, cookie when Peter asked right after he took a sip from his own can of grape soda.

“So, what’d you want to talk about?”

Cassie chewed and swallowed her food before yelling out ecstatically, 

“I need you to help me find my daddy a boyfriend!”

When those words entered Peter’s ears, the purple carbonated liquid that was in his mouth shot from his lips and splashed all over the red carpet that covered the floor. 

“Ewwww…”, Cassie said, even though Peter’s accident didn’t stop her from eating another cookie.

An apologetic Peter grabbed a towel and started to dab the cloth at the mess he made, mumbling, 

“Sorry, Cass.”

“That’s okay. You can make it up to me by helping me find a boyfriend for Daddy.”

“Why do you want to find a boyfriend for your dad?”

“Well, we saw his ex-girlfriend at the carnival and it made him sad. So, if he gets a boyfriend, he won’t think about her anymore and he’ll be happy.”

“How do you even know that your dad even likes guys? He might just like girls.”

“Dad told me that he likes boys and girls.”

That little tidbit of information made Peter’s eyebrows shoot up to his forehead. Cassie didn’t notice how shocked Peter was before she asked ecstatically,

“Who should Daddy date?!”

Peter shrugged his shoulders, which made Cassie begin to pout. Peter couldn’t stand to see Cassie pouting, so he offered up an idea.

“Listen, I might not be the best person to ask, but I think I know someone who is.”

Peter pressed some buttons on his watch before a feminine voice that sounded almost robotic said,

“Hello, Peter.”

“Hi, Karen. Can you call Mr. Stark?”

“One moment.”

A loud dial tone emitted from Peter’s watch before bright blue lights shot out from the device. Right before the children’s eyes, the lights grew transformed into large square that filled with color. Eventually, the colors started to take shape and form a picture of Tony and T’Challa sitting on a black leather couch. Apparently, it was a bad time to contact the engineer because Tony Stark seemed to be….crying. No, crying wasn’t the right word to describe what Tony was doing. It would have to be sobbing. 

A sobbing Tony rested his head on T’Challa’s shoulder while his arms were wrapped tightly around T’Challa’s arm. T’Challa looked absolutely done with the billionaire’s antics and only lightly patted him on the head, saying half-heartedly, 

“There, there.”

Cassie pointed at Tony and asked in between laughs, “Why is Grandpapa Tony crying like a baby?”

Tony’s head shot up from T’Challa’s soldier before he exclaimed angrily while pointing an angry index finger at the Wakandan King, “You should be asking why he’s isn’t crying!”

The monarch explained after taking a moment to roll his eyes, “We were watching The Lion King.”

Peter winced when he heard the name of the movie that caused him many nights of crying when he was little. He investigated,

“Why would you do that to yourself?”

Tony blew his nose before he answered his question, sniffling every few seconds, 

“T’Challa’s never seen it before, and I took that as an insult.”

“Wait…so T’Challa didn’t cry at all?”

“Not one tear, kid. Not one.”

Peter’s hand flew to his chest in outrage. He looked at T’Challa and asked with accusing tone, “What’s wrong with you?!”

Tony interrupted, “He’s heartless! My boyfriend is heartless!”

T’Challa’s eyes did a backflip before he commented, “It’s just a children’s movie. I don’t see the need to get emotional over a children’s movie.”

“The Lion King isn’t just a children’s movie! It’s an icon that defined a generation! It’s the best Disney movie in existence and it deserves your respect!”

Cassie commented, “Frozen is better.”

Tony snapped his head towards Cassie and said, “That is blasphemy, but you are young and innocent, so I’ll let that slide.” 

Tony began to yell at T’Challa again, but the ruler ignored him. Instead, he asked Peter,

“Is there a reason you called?”

“Yes..Cassie needs help.”

Those three words immediately made Tony’s shouting cease. He went into full protective mode and basically started to interrogate his protégé.

“Who’s messing with my godchild?! Who do I need to sue?! Who do I need to strike fear and terror into?! Who needs a beam canon to the face?!”

Cassie said, “I need you to help me find a boyfriend for Daddy.”

Hearing that made Tony shift from protective mode to indifference. 

“That’s all? I thought it was something important.”

“It is important, Grandpapa Tony! I want my daddy to be happy!”

“Dating guys is going to make your father happy?”, T’Challa interrogated with a skeptical tone of voice.

“Yes!”, Cassie enthusiastically answered with a smile on her face. 

Peter asked his mentor and his significant other, “Will you help?”

Tony commented with an air of boredom, “I got nothing better to do. What about you, Hello Kitty?”

T’Challa sighed before saying, “You’ll rope me into doing this whether I like it or not.”  
Tony asked, “Alright, kid. Got any prospects?”

Cassie said, “I want my daddy to date the best hero ever!”

A smug smirk formed on Tony’s lips when he said, “You must want Scott to date me then.”

T’Challa raised an eyebrow. “Is that your way of saying that you want to break up with me?”

In response to his question, Tony wrapped his arms around T’Challa’s shoulders and hissed with the same ferocity of a small, angry kitten,

“Mine!”

T’Challa silently chuckled and pressed his lips against Tony’s forehead briefly before prying himself out of Tony’s grasp.

Cassie laughed at Tony’s antics, but the same couldn’t be said for Peter. The emotions that he experienced from his break up with Michelle were still raw and fresh in his mind. Seeing Tony and T’Challa’s brief public displays of affection made Peter’s heart ache in pain. 

He spoke a little too loudly for his liking, “Cassie, what kind of hero do you want your Dad to date?”

“I said the best one!”

“I get that, but do you want someone super powerful?”

“I want someone smart just like my daddy!”

T’Challa sneered, “If Scott was really smart, he wouldn’t have become a thief in the first place and made his marriage fall apart.”

Cassie picked up on the T’Challa’s insult and screeched, “Don’t say mean things about my daddy!”

A name popped into Peter’s head. “How about Dr. Banner?”

Tony was quick to shut that idea down. “No way. The science love of my life would never date Scott, not as long as he’s chasing Romanoff around like a puppy.”

“Colonel Rhodes?”

“My Rhodey is not an option. He’s the platonic love of my life.”

“Isn’t T’Challa supposed to be the love of your life?”

“Nope. T’Challa is my whole world. There’s a difference, kiddo.”

“Um…..Dr. Strange?”

Peter saying the sorcerer’s name made Tony’s face turn as red as a tomato. He screamed at the top of his lungs, “NO! NO! NO! WE ARE NOT GOING TO USE STRANGE! ABSOLUTELY NOT!”

Peter and Cassie flinched at the inventor’s tone of voice while T’Challa became suspicious. 

Cassie asked innocently, “What’s wrong with Dr. Strange?”

Tony shouted, “What’s not wrong with him?! He’s cocky, arrogant, narcissistic, thinks the world revolves around him, and he’s a joke of a doctor! I used to respect him when he was a neurosurgeon, but when he quit that to go study magic..”, he said the word as if it was literally poison to his system, “..he became nothing but a joke!”

T’Challa commented aloud, “You’re calling someone cocky, arrogant, and narcissistic? He’s the pot to your kettle, Tony.”

Tony only glared at him while T’Challa’s words inspired Peter to speak up.

“How is he a joke because he studies magic?”

“Magic isn’t real, Peter. Magic is just science that no one can explain. So, in order to save face, they call it magic.”

T’Challa asked the wealthy inventor, “Is that the only reason why you dislike Dr. Strange so much?”

Tony crossed his arms over his chest and childishly turned his head away from T’Challa, which only made the man glare at him. Tony squirmed under the weight of T’Challa’s scrutinizing gaze. Finally, the man couldn’t take it any longer and confessed in a voice that didn’t hide how embarrassed he was.

“Okay, I admit it! I asked him out once and he turned me down! There?! Are you happy?!”

Tony’s confession made Peter’s jaw drop all the way to the floor, confusion to form on Cassie’s face, and T’Challa to look slightly amused.  
T’Challa said, “Wow….even another version of yourself doesn’t want to date you. I’m actually impressed.”

Tony seethed, “One more word and our relationship is over.”

T’Challa shrugged, “That’s fine. Maybe, I’ll ask out Dr. Strange for coffee. Unlike someone I know, he might actually have the courage to….how do you Americans say it….put a ring on it?”

Tony’s eyes grew to the size of saucers when T’Challa said that. He declared hastily,

“Change of plans, kids! We’re setting up Strange with Scott!”

Cassie celebrated by jumping up and down, saying, “Operation: Make Daddy Happy is a go!” 

\-------------------------------

If there was one word that didn’t apply to Stephen Strange, it was afraid. After injuring his hands in a car accident, learning magic, and defeating Dormamamu, Stephen feared absolutely nothing. Not even the grossest cockroach could instill fear into the heart of the sorcerer. When he answered the door to his Sanctum Sanctorum after the doorbell was rung, the sight of a little girl riding a giant ant like a pony didn’t frighten the sorcerer one bit. He certainly did not scream when said giant ant tackled him in a manner that was reminiscent to a dog. No, that loud sound that emitted from the sorcerer’s mouth was most certainly not a scream. It was more of a….loud, surprised gasp. It was definitely not a scream. 

Both him and the ant crashed straight into the hard, wooden floor with his back bearing most of the damage. The little girl on the large insect greets him with a smile that has several gaps, thanks to some of her baby teeth falling out. 

“Hi, Dr. Strange!”

“H-Hello…”, Stephen said, secretly hating how weak it sounded.

“Grandpapa Tony told me to give this to you!”, the young child said, pushing an envelope in front of his face. Stephen clutched the envelope in his fingers, which made the girl pat the ant on the head, saying,

“Come on, Rupert. Time to go!”

The four-legged insect scrambled off of Stephen, ran out of the sorcerer’s domain, and sprinted off into the distance. Stephen thanked his lucky stars that the ginormous ant finally got off of him. He wasn’t scared or anything. No one would want an insect to jump on them. 

Once he actually made it to his feet, he decided to investigate the mysterious letter that was delivered to him. The envelope had a faint smell of Armani, which Stephen’s nostrils picked up. Carefully, he opened the envelope and pulled out a note that was written in neat, cursive writing.

Dear Stephen Strange,

You are cordially invited to a dinner party hosted by the best person in the entire world, Tony Stark. Please come to the Avengers Tower tonight at seven sharp. Don’t be late. Lateness is for losers.

Sincerely,

Tony Stark 

Stephen rolled his eyes at the note. He said no to the armored hero once, which should have been enough. The magician was about to throw the note away until his eyes spotted words on the back of the paper.

P.S. This is not a date, Strange. I’m dating a King now, who is waaaayyyyyy better than you. This is an Avengers dinner party. 

P.S.S. Wear your best suit and tie. We all know you’re not going to look as good as me, but try your best. 

He held the note in his hands in contemplation. A part of him wanted to get rid of the note due to his dislike for Tony Stark, but after reading the second part of the note, something made him hesitate. Going to a dinner party would take his mind off the fact that Mordo walked out of Stephen’s life and never looked back. His departure left a void in the Sanctum and his heart. For one night, it would be nice just to forget about how broken his heart really was. 

So, he decided to fish out his best suit and tie. He had a party to get ready for and not a lot of time to do it. 

\------------------------------

Scott dreaded the long drive back to his small, empty apartment. He was not looking forward to going back to his lonely household. He turned up the radio to drown his sorrows out with music, but no matter how loud the music was, it still didn’t take his mind off the deep sadness he felt. Getting his heart ripped out by Hope was one thing, but seeing her together with someone else so quickly after their breakup was too much for the man to take. 

In the deepest, darkest corners of his mind, he could still hear the last scathing words Hope told him before walking away from him forever.

“You’re not good enough for me and I can do a whole lot better than you.”

He felt his eyes fill up with unwanted tears, but he wiped them away as quickly as he could. He spent enough sleepless nights crying over Hope. He was not going to have another one, not if he could help it. As he was wiping his eyes clear of tears of saltwater, he noticed a black object flying across the sky. He wouldn’t have paid any attention to it if it was going the opposite direction, but it wasn’t.

Instead, it looked like it was coming straight towards him.

Scott slowed down to a stop as the helicopter touched down a few feet near him. Scott scrambled out of his car, ready to fire insults and ask why the person driving the helicopter would block his path. Anything he planned to say stayed in his mind because he became overwhelmed with shock when not one, but two people exited the helicopter. 

First, Tony Stark came out, followed by T’Challa. Scott’s eyes grew three sizes larger and his jaw dropped all the way to the ground. Tony strutted towards the awestruck man and closed Scott’s mouth by holding his chin in his hand. Then, Tony pushed Scott’s face from one side to the other in a gesture that reminded Scott of a fashion designer judging the quality of a model. 

“He’s pretty cute, but he’s nothing compared to you, babe.”, Tony said, winking at T’Challa. 

“I’m so glad that I won an attractiveness competition against a thief.”, T’Challa deadpanned. 

“Hey! I’m not a thief anymore!”, Scott argued defensively. 

“No one care what you used to be, Scotty boy. I just care about what I need you to be, which is incredibly hot.”, Tony said with a cheeky grin on his face.

Before Scott had a chance to say anything, a pair of hands whisked him into the air. Scott screamed before he turned his head upwards to see who on earth was carrying him. He yelled in outrage,  
“Vision, put me down!”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, sir. Mr. Stark gave me direct orders to make sure you enter the helicopter. He was under the impression that you wouldn’t come with him otherwise.”

“Vision, I swear to God, if you don’t put me down-“

He would have screamed some more if Vision hadn’t literally thrown him in the helicopter and strapped him inside against his will. 

“Please wait here quietly, sir.”

Vision phased through the interior of the aerial mobile transport, only to return with Tony a few moments later. Tony looked back at an infuriated Scott and said,

“Don’t worry about that piece of crap you call a car, Lang. T’Challa will make sure it finds its way home.” 

“Bite me, Stark.”

“Not interested. Time for a field trip!”

After a speedy trip to Avengers Tower, a noisy crowd of people immediately surrounded Scott. Some of them were carrying endless boxes of make up while others were lugging around carts that were adorned with tuxedos of every single color in existence. The huge mass of people cleared a path for Tony Stark, radiating with so much adoration for the man that he was basically strutted around as if he was a god that demanded their worship and praise. 

All of the noise and chatter that commenced among the crowd ceased immediately with a snap of Tony’s fingers. He waved a nonchalant hand at Scott Lang and issued a command to his staff.

“Make him hot.”

Suddenly, people were all on top of him. Countless hands grabbed his arms and literally dragged him away. He nearly broke his neck trying to turn to see Tony Stark, but the man was walking in the opposite direction. Tony left him alone with a pack of wolves and Scott was the helpless sheep that couldn’t defend himself against their sharp teeth. 

Helpless to do anything, all Scott could do was scream in horror.


	2. The Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott and Stephen go on their blind date. Hijinks ensue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while since I've updated, but I'm back with the conclusion of this two-shot. Enjoy!

At seven ‘o’clock sharp, Stephen Strange stood outside Avengers Tower, dressed head to toe in a black tuxedo and a new Rolex watch to match. Since his hair was always flawless, he didn’t put a single drop of gel in it. He rang the doorbell, which made obnoxious rock music start playing. After a second, the door opened to reveal a bald, red, man with blue eyes clad in a maroon tuxedo with black loafers. The man in front of the magician was clearly not human, but that wasn’t what Stephen found so fascinating about him. The magician’s attention was focused on the golden Infinity Stone that was embedded in the center of the individual’s forehead. 

He spoke in a British accent, which made a ripple of surprise flutter through Stephen, 

“Good evening, Mr. Strange. I will escort you to the dining room. Please follow me.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After fifteen minutes past the scheduled time for dinner, Tony Stark was finally introduced to a newly transformed Scott Lang. 

Any trace of a beard that he would normally sport was gone. His face was cleanly-shaven with no trace of facial hair in sight. Scott’s hair that was usually messy and traveling in all directions was gelled and smoothed back stylishly. Not one brown lock was out of place. There was a shiny, sequined silver tuxedo vest draped on his firm upper body while pants of the same color covered his legs. Unlike the jacket, they weren’t sequined, but the trousers still looked good with the jacket nonetheless. 

Tony Stark whistled when he saw Scott walking towards him while T’Challa’s mouth opened, only to snap shut a second later. When Scott stopped in front of them, Tony circled around him like a vulture inspecting its prey. It made Scott very uncomfortable. 

His discomfort only got worse when Tony declared, “You look hot, Lang. You almost make me wish I was single.”

Scott’s face was quickly turning red with embarrassment and anger. He was about to snarl at the crazy engineer in front of them, but any words he was about to say disappeared when he heard his daughter call at to him,

“Daddy!”

He turned around to see his daughter running towards him. Instead of wearing T-shirt and jeans like earlier, she wore a sparkly, pink dress that made her look like a princess. A joyful smile spread across his face as he wrapped his arms around Cassie and lifted her into the air, spinning her around. He held her tightly, saying, 

“Hi, Peanut!”

Scott gently put Cassie back down on the ground and Cassie grabbed her father’s hand and tugged him towards the dining room, declaring, 

“Come on, Daddy! You’re late for dinner!”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Stephen first saw Scott walk into the dining room, his lips parted in a shocked gasp. His eyes took in everything about the man walking into the room and only one thought formed in his head, thanks to this man’s arrival.

God, this man was attractive.

Scott sat down in a chair adjacent to him and held out his hand to him.

“Name’s Scott. Nice to meet you, Mr….”

Stephen took Scott’s hand in a firm grip and said, “Strange. Doctor Strange.”

Hearing his name made Scott’s jaw drop all the way to the floor. He asked out of pure surprise, 

“As in Stephen Strange?”

“The very same.”

“Oh My God! I read your papers during grad school!”

“Are you a doctor?”

“I wanted to be at first, but I found out that I was better at electrical engineering. So, I got my Master’s in that.”

This new piece of information intrigued the sorcerer. Being nice to look at was one thing, but what Stephen really valued in an individual was intelligence. Knowing that Scott possessed a Master’s degree made him infinitely more appealing to the Sorcerer now.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tony Stark strutted into the kitchen were a disgruntled T’Challa slaved over a hot stove decked head to toe in a white chef’s outfit with a giant white chef’s hat sitting perfectly on his head. Skillets full of pasta filled with seafood and vegetables sizzled in front of him. 

Bing! Bing! Bing!

The sound of the oven going off radiated throughout the kitchen, which signaled T’Challa to open the oven to retrieve a golden pie that gave off the delicious scents of chicken and beef. The savory smells of the delectable dishes that his boyfriend was cooking nearly made Tony’s mouth water.

As he approached the King of Wakanda, he asked with a cheeky grin on his face, “Having fun, babe?”

He received a death glare from T’Challa before the monarch stated, “I hate you. I hate you so much.”

“That’s a lie. I’m too hot to hate.”

“That’s debatable.”

“Don’t be so mean.”

“How are Lang and Strange faring?”

“FRIDAY reports that they are talking and don’t suspect a thing. Is it time for our server to shine?”

“ I believe it is.”

Tony called out, gleefully, “ FRIDAY, it’s time!”

Peter Parker entered the vicinity, dressed in a dark blue tuxedo. Tony ruffled Peter’s hair, questioning like a proud parent, “Doesn’t he look like the cutest little waiter?”

Peter’s cheeks turned pink, but not out of anger or embarrassment. In fact, a small smile formed on his face because his mentor was doting on him like he was his own son. T’Challa found the moment sweet, not that he would ever admit to Tony. 

Peter grabbed two black trays: one filled with two plates full of seafood pasta and slices of T’Challa’s chicken and beef pie while the other was filled with two glasses of bubbling champagne. 

“Is this everything I’m supposed to get, Mr. Stark?”, Peter asked Tony, gazing at him with such adoration and admiration that it made T’Challa compare the teenager to a puppy trying to see its mother’s approval. 

“That’s everything, kiddo. Go give our guests the royal treatment.”, Tony commanded. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Stephen saw a young teenager carrying two trays of food and drinks, the Sorcerer was relieved. As much as he was enjoying talking to Scott, he found the gnawing hunger pains in his stomach quite uncomfortable. As soon as the plate were placed in front of him, Stephen immediately started to eat and it didn’t take long for Scott to do the same. However, Scott suddenly stopped eating, which made Stephen ask,

“Don’t like the food?”

“It’s not that….It’s just…”, Scott trailed off while his head twisted and turned to look around the room. He turned his attention back to Stephen and stated, “I kinda thought there would be more people here.”

In the beginning, Stephen had the same thought in his mind, but it didn’t take him long to suspect that both of them were being set up on a blind date. He wasn’t going to let Scott know that though. The food was too good to go to waste, and he genuinely enjoyed Scott’s company.

Scott questioned, “By the way, how’d you end up here anyway? Did Stark kidnap you too?”

That earned a chuckle from Stephen. “No. No. Nothing of the sort. I received an invitation from a little girl and her pet…ant.” He hoped and prayed that Scott didn’t catch how distressed he sounded when he said that.

Stephen mentioning his young visitor made Scott investigate, “My Cassie visited you?”

That question made Stephen drop his fork against his plate with the collision making a huge CLANG.

“Your Cassie?”, investigated an incredulous Stephen.

“Yeah, Cassie’s my daughter. I had no idea she stopped by your place. Sorry if Rupert scared you.”, Scott said sheepishly while his hand rubbed the back of his neck.

The word “scared” made Stephen’s temper flare up. He rose up to his feet in a rush, exclaiming, “I wasn’t scared!”

First, Scott raised an eyebrow at Strange. A second later, a mischievous smile formed on his face. Scott continued to pry,

“You know….there’s no shame in admitting that you were a little scared. Rupert has that effect on people.”  
“If you think that I was frightened by an insect…”, Stephen hissed as he said the word you are highly mistaken.”

Scott didn’t believe the Sorcerer’s words for one second. In fact, Stephen’s blatant denial that the sight of Rupert didn’t unnerve him made Scott start to cackle and mock,

“I can’t believe that the great Doctor Strange was scared of a little ant.”

Without any warning, Scott’s glass of champagne lifted into the air, as if an invisible force was controlling it, and thrust it towards his face. Champagne flew from the glass and hit Scott right in the face. His eyes exploded in pain, which was quickly followed by a burning sensation as champagne dripped down his face and into his eyes. Scott quickly grabbed a napkin and rubbed the thin cloth in his eyes in a desperate attempt to get the liquid out of his pupils. He glared at Stephen, who had a smug smirk on his face. There was no way Scott could let Stephen get away with what he just did. His fingers clutched a fistful of the pie on his plate and flung it at Stephen. 

SMACK!

The pie crashed into Stephen’s face, which made Scott burst out laughing. The magician wiped the meat away from his eyes with his fingers as the food around him started to levitate. Scott just grinned, picked up his own plate, and challenged the Sorcerer with only two words,

“Bring it.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tony licked his lips when T’Challa applied the last layer of frosting to the cake in front of them. The cake consisted of four layers that were covered in white frosting with flower designs that were made from purple frosting. The pastry looked absolutely divine. Tony’s naughty hands reached towards the cake to get a least a little bit of frosting so he could taste it. He was centimeters from achieving his goal when a spoon hit his hand painfully. 

Tony yelled out and rubbed his afflicted hand as T’Challa said, “That’s what you get for trying to eat a cake that’s not yours.”

Peter snickered as he watched his mentor get scolded by boyfriend, but immediately stopped when Tony barked an order at him,

“Go see if they’re ready for dessert!”

The teen disappeared, only to return moments later, completely covered in food, much to Tony and T’Challa’s shock. He declared,

“We might have a small problem.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was all out war in the dining room. 

Food and champagne flew back and forth across the room. The long table that once seated Scott and Stephen was now used as a shield to protect Scott from Stephen’s culinary attacks. Stephen didn’t need a makeshift shield born from a mahogany table. He manifested his own force fields out of yellow, glowing magical energy. The men threw food back and forth at each other like young children and they were having the time of their lives. 

Grins that traveled from ear to ear were on both men’s faces while gleeful laughing filled the air. 

All of that changed when two Iron-Man suits flew into the room, grabbed the men, and lifted them into the air. Both of them were trapped in the embrace of arms made of metal and steel. Tony walked into the room and it only took one look at the damage the two men caused to his room for his face to become as red as a tomato with rage. 

He spat out, “GET. THEM. OUT. OF. HERE.”

The two Iron-Man suits tightened their hold on the heroes as did as their creator commanded. Scott and Strange were whisked out of the house and dropped on the street. Once their task was completed, the suits flew back into the house. 

With the two men out of the house, Tony rubbed his temples as the pains of an upcoming migraine where began to surface below his skin. He dragged his hands over his face and said, 

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., tell Dummy to come here and clean this mess up.”

“Yes, Boss.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scott sat up and rubbed his right shoulder that ached due to colliding painfully with the gravel, “Guess we ruined dinner, huh?”

Stephen made it to his feet, shrugged at Scott’s words, and held a hand out to him, saying, “Depends on how you look at it.”

Scott took Stephen’s hand as he helped him up to his feet. Scott said, “I still find it strange that no one else besides us showed up.” Stephen chuckled a little, which made Scott ask, 

“Why are you laughing?”

“I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out yet.”

“Figured out what?”

“We were just set up on a blind date.”

The words “blind date” made Scott’s eyes almost pop out of his head from the shock. Inside his mind, everything that happened began to make sense. His daughter’s concern, Stark kidnapping him and forcing him to become dressed up….every single odd occurrence began to piece together to form together a strange puzzle. 

“Oh my god...”, groaned a completely mortified Scott, “….I can’t believe…..I bet it was Cassie’s idea….and she got Stark to go along with it…and that kid….and Vision…”

He locked eyes with Strange, but staring into his brown eyes suddenly became unbearable for Scott. His cheeks become warmer and warmer with each passing second and he had no choice to look away from the magician if he wanted to save himself from any more humiliation. He settled for looking at the ground.

“Sorry about all of this.”, Scott muttered.

“Don’t be. It was a nice date. I had a good time.”, Stephen replied, making Scott heart skip a beat. 

“Well…so did I. Dating you….it was good.”, Scott sputtered out. 

“That reminds me…”, Stephen said, as if he was remembering to do something that he hadn’t thought about doing until now. He looked at Scott with such intensity that Scott wasn’t sure that his heart couldn’t take it any longer if Stephen kept looking at him that way. Yellow magical energy materialized around his hands and it shot towards Scott. 

An astounded Scott first thought the magic beams were an attack, but much to his bewilderment, the beams traveled past him, only to wrap around his waist. Stephen raised his hand in the air and curled his fingers repeatedly in a “Come here” gesture. The beams pushed Scott forward and the insect master stumbled, thanks to his balance being compromised by Stephen’s magic. He would’ve fallen if Stephen didn’t wrap his arm around his waist. Before Scott had a chance to say anything, Stephen fingers curled around the back of his neck and pushed his head forward so Scott’s lips could meet his. 

Scott’s eyes quadrupled in size before he felt his eyelids close and his hands rested on his shoulders. After Scott’s lungs started screaming and begging for oxygen, he pulled away to reveal a smirking Stephen Strange. The magician closed the distance between them, only to give Scott a peck on the cheek before saying in a tone so low that it sounded like a whisper, 

“I always finish my dates with a kiss.”

“Text me.”, Stephen requested, winking to a stunned Scott Lang. Then, Stephen lifted into the air and flew away into the night. Scott started at the departing magician before blinking with the realization that Stephen never gave him his number.

He was about to scream for Stephen to come back until he realized that there was something in his pocket. His hand ventured into the fabric until he felt a small piece of paper. He fished it out to see a card that had Stephen’s number on it. 

Scott laughed to himself as he programmed the number in his phone before venturing to his apartment. 

After he removed all the soiled clothing from his body and showered, he sent a text to Stephen.

Dinner tomorrow night at 7? 

A second later, he got a response.

See you then. 

He smiled to himself before putting his phone in sleep mode. However, before he fell asleep, he sent a text to his daughter.

Thanks for the date, Cassie.

The next morning, he woke up to a new text message.

You're welcome, Daddy. I hope he makes you happy.


End file.
